1.28.2008

man gets one and a half years for killing 3

This is outrageous. Last week in Seattle, Dimitri Sidorchuk faced charges of muder for the deaths of 23-year-old Sovintha Nhem and 20-year-old Sophea Sun, manslaughter for the accidental death of his friend William Shane Belk, and assualt for injuring three other young men in a confrontation in July 2006.

For his crimes, he faced more than 80 years in prison. Instead, he'll serve 26 monthsa year and a half, figuring in time already served: Man gets 1 1/2 years for 3 slayings. According to the story:

The shooting stemmed from a confrontation that began when Nhem, who had been asked to leave a Skyway bowling alley and casino with his friends, wandered into the yard of Sidorchuk's nearby rental home. The two exchanged increasingly heated words -- with Sidorchuk and Belk hurling racial slurs and Nhem's group shouting threats in return -- until Nhem and his four friends backed a car into Sidorchuk's driveway.

At that, Sidorchuk and Belk opened fire with semiautomatic weapons, shooting more than 20 rounds into the car. None of the young men inside were armed.

Deputies who later rushed to the scene discovered a marijuana-growing operation inside Sidorchuk's home, but no testimony about that was allowed at trial. This omission, as well as the double hung juries and the final agreement that Sidorchuk would be given little more than a two-year sentence, infuriated supporters of the victims.

Okay, so there was definitely a heated altercation here, and things got out of hand on both sides before the shooting started. But self-defense? Seriously?

It says Sidorchuk and Belk unloaded more than 20 rounds into the car. Surely, his actions deserved more than just two years in jail. Can you really blame Nhem's cousin for expressing this sentiment: "If you're a dark-skinned person trying to live in a white-skinned world, justice is not on your side. I have learned that from this trial." Indeed.